Topic: Electric propagator

[goodlife]

How so?

My Cannabis-style lighting rig :)

AH!....and now I'm going to ask what I've been wondering about...
...what is that 'spiky' plant at bottom left hand corner? Something to 'go with' the style of lighting..?

[Paulines7]

My peppers and chillies were sown about the same time as yours but are nowhere near as big.  Is this due to your having a different lighting set up and is a metal halide lamp expensive to run compared with 45W growlamp bulbs? 

I am running out of room now so will have to put my propagator somewhere else so I can extend my light box to take up all the working surface.

[kGarden]

AH!....and now I'm going to ask what I've been wondering about...
...what is that 'spiky' plant at bottom left hand corner? Something to 'go with' the style of lighting..?

I wish I knew!  And sadly, no, not part of some High Value Cash Crop!!

I need to post a photo of it in case anyone knows what it is. It arrived in a pot sown with some Agave seeds ... and there are definitely some baby Agaves in the pot, plus that prickly monster (relative to the size of the Agaves!)

My peppers and chillies were sown about the same time as yours but are nowhere near as big.  Is this due to your having a different lighting set up

Yup, WAY more light output from a Metal Halide lamp

and is a metal halide lamp expensive to run compared with 45W growlamp bulbs? 

Sadly yes. Its 400W so is 10x the running cost of your 45W bulb. But I'm not convinced that a 45W bulb makes that much difference - although I've never done a side-by-side test.

Here's my Costing Sums

My lamp runs, say, 12 hours a day from January through March or maybe April.  Once the conservatory is warm enough I put the lamp in there and run it at night - so the plants get daylight and extra at night.

8 hours per day x 4 months = let's say 1,000 hours

Electricity is, I am guessing, 17p per unit.  A unit is 1kw (1000W) running for one hour.

So my 400W bulb running for 1000 hours is 0.4kW x 1000 Hours = 400kWh = 400 units.

400 units * 17p = £68

My Peppers have been potted on today; they won't all fit under the lamp any more, so will now have to fend for themselves - they have had a flying start.  The lamp will move on to bringing on tiny seedlings like Coleus and Lobellia, which are very slow to get going.

P.S. One additional cost of Metal Halide lamps - they need  a new bulb every season. The light quality falls off quite quickly, so not worth using an old bulb (as paying for electricity which only outputs 50% of the light compared to a new bulb)

[Paulines7]

Thanks for your reply, kGarden and your explanation as to why my plants are behind yours in growth size.   

My plants are certainly much bigger and stronger this year than they normally are, so the 45W grow lamp bulbs are definitely doing something.  What I notice more than anything else is that my plants are not leggy like they have been in the past and are producing their true leaves very much quicker. 

I have been using multi-purpose compost mixed with perlite to grow my seedlings for many years, but it seems, from what my neighbour says, that I should be using John Innes seed compost, especially for chillies.  I would be interested to know what you are all using?

[goodlife]

I have been using multi-purpose compost mixed with perlite to grow my seedlings for many years, but it seems, from what my neighbour says, that I should be using John Innes seed compost, especially for chillies.  I would be interested to know what you are all using?

I've made my own seedcompost using MP compost as 'base' and adding some peat, generous amount of sand and vermiculate to improve drainage and 'keeping the seeds warm' quality and with added extras I tried to 'dilute' the nutrients in the mix that are in MP compost.
Sounds like you are doing ok with your chillies.... ..and don't worry about it if you plants are not quite as advanced as kGarden's  are. If you are going to grow you chillies in GH and can't supply enough additional heating for them, there is nothing gained to get the plants ready early on the year. Keep them growing on steady pace next couple of months and then they should be big and strong enough for 'great outdoors' in GH and should manage fine without heating...though they might need protection from fleece for week or two until they are fully acclimatized.
You can start giving fertilizer for you plants too....supply from compost doesn't last long! BUT...do give it in VERY diluted strength for start...1/4 strength of more and you can give it almost every watering...occasional plain water every so often is good..and they are better off not watered really really wet. Until the plants are big enough to use all the moisture and quickly too...soggy compost is chillies biggest enemy.
And since you have the other 'colour' bulb too....if you plants should get budding stage before you get them into their final growing place...you could add the other bulb, which will benefit the plants at that stage.

[Paulines7]

Thanks Goodlife.

I have a couple more questions in relation to your last post.  You say that you put sand in your compost mixture and I assume that you use silver sand? 

I wasn't certain from what you said as to when to start feeding?  Is it best to wait until they are in the greenhouse or do I need to give them something sooner whilst they are still in the light box or on my working surface indoors?   Thanks.

[goodlife]

Thanks Goodlife.

I have a couple more questions in relation to your last post.  You say that you put sand in your compost mixture and I assume that you use silver sand? 

I wasn't certain from what you said as to when to start feeding?  Is it best to wait until they are in the greenhouse or do I need to give them something sooner whilst they are still in the light box or on my working surface indoors?   Thanks.

Yes...silver sand is ideal.
About feeding....fertilizers in compost are said to last about 4 weeks (often not even that long) and then all the 'energy' is spent up and plants can go 'hungry'. So, if your plants start showing any signs of producing slightly paler-yellowy green growth/leaves it is sign that they will need food. Like I already mentioned about VERY weak mix of fertilizer, I start giving odd doze after few weeks from potting on. You plants are actively growing under lights so they will need food too. I grow my plants in as small pots as possible, trying to avoid hassle of potting on so this feeding is particularly important...they will cope being little bit pot bound but not being hungry doesn't do any favours. Nice deep green colouring is what to aim for.

[galina]

Goodlife, what do you feed with?  Is there any preferred feed for plants under lights?

[goodlife]

Goodlife, what do you feed with?  Is there any preferred feed for plants under lights?

I tend to use chilli focus for my chillies and peppers through out their life...just diluting it according...chillies and peppers can be bit sensitive for urea content in fertilizers, so I keep to what I know works for me..heh, I have used same brand 'orchid fertilizer' and that works too for being very similar type 'concoction'.
 As for other plants...some things I use 'green houseplants fertilizer'..to support the green growth rather than push the plants for early flowering...read; I buy all sorts in the end of season sales and decide their suitability of uses from the contents of the label..;D..
I look the NPK content...N content being higher for leafy growth...houseplant and other specific plant group fertilizers tend to be more..umm, thinking of right word now...'refined'? Can't think of right word so I try to explain what I mean.
The way I 'see it'...general bigger bulk fertilizers tend to be made of less refined sources of nutrients, which are fine when you try to grow more robust bulky plants in quantity..cheaper to produce and cheaper to buy and they are not that sensitive and it is not big loss if one should 'upset' odd plant.
Concentrated liquid feeds, particularly those for specific type of plants are more carefully put together..aim to feed more expensive (individual) plants often supplied with many micronutrients...brilliant for small sensitive plants. I've used palmtree fertilizers....baby-bio...baby-bio herb liquid fertilizer...general 'green' houseplant liquid fertilizers...orchid fertilizer 'for growth'....etc etc. All with good results and actually I don't find them expensive as I can use them literally few drops at the time, they last long time and each drop is instantly well dissolved in water.
 Where as granular stuff has 'salts' and getting right consentration is smaller water quantities is more tricky and I don't want to make up whole bucket/watering can full at the time for more accurate mix and often they don't have those important 'fine details nutrients'...though drop of seaweed would remedy it quite easily.
At the moment I use fertilizer I bought from Lidl couple of years ago, they are biggish 500ml bottles and seem to last ages...'liquid house plant fertilizer for green leafy plants'...and its been just fine as 'general' feed for more and less anything while growing indoors. At the time it was cheap to buy too...and I'll be keeping my eyes open for some more this spring..brilliant stuff

[kGarden]

I start feeding as soon as the seedlings have true leaves. I use a very dilute liquid fertiliser

[galina]

I start feeding as soon as the seedlings have true leaves. I use a very dilute liquid fertiliser

Thank you Goodlife and KG.  I have bought organic seaweed liquid fertiliser and intend using it initially at greater dilution rate.  Perhaps a little more 'controlled' than what I used to do, which was diluting my own comfrey liquid.  The problem is that the comfrey gets quite smelly in the conservatory on the capillary matting when the plants are a bit bigger, and dosing it is a bit of a gamble too.

Thanks for info and reassurance.   

[Silverleaf]

Nothing happening in my propagator yet apart from the first signs of mould.

This worries me.

[kGarden]

Too wet perhaps?